Our state’s successful judicial public financing program is a national model, replicated in several states, but several bills in the General Assembly would kill it. The program provides a statewide voter guide and an alternative source of campaign funds for appellate court candidates who abide by certain public trust conditions. Here’s an update from NC Voters [...]
Last month, a link took you to an in-depth analysis of political fundraising involved in the 2012 election of the 50 members of the NC Senate. Here’s the link for NC FreeEnterprise Foundation’s analysis of the NC House races in 2012, including the role of outside spending groups, a look at the hottest contests, and [...]
Time is running out to register for the NC Council of Churches’ Legislative Seminar on April 11. As the registration form and program announcement says, “The full day of workshops is led by expert presenters and offers opportunities for progressive people of faith to learn about critical issues facing the General Assembly. Grassroots activists working [...]
This week ends on Good Friday with a press conference in a church, sponsored by the NAACP, Democracy NC and others, pointing out the fraud of state legislators trying to steal people’s right to vote by manipulating the election system – yet justice will rise triumphant! The respond to these hostile bills filed earlier this week [...]
In case you’ve been waiting to see the much anticipated “Screw the Voter Act of 2013,” it was filed today by Rep. Edgar Starnes, NC House Majority Leader. This is not the voter ID bill, that’s coming later. This is actually a bill to Promote Voter Fraud! House Bill 451 creates new barriers to Early Voting, which [...]
New research by Democracy North Carolina reveals more ties between Gov. Pat McCrory’s 2012 election campaign and the corruption scandal that caused Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll of Florida to resign two weeks ago. Last week, Gov. McCrory said $8,000 was being sent to a Durham charity to purge his campaign account of the $8,000 donated [...]
NC FreeEnterprise Foundation released a detailed, 10-page report analyzing the state Senate elections for 2012. It begins: “When Democrats held a majority in the North Carolina Senate, they routinely and significantly out-raised their Republican counterparts and wielded their financial advantage to frequently win hotly contested races in competitive districts and to ultimately maintain power. That [...]
The man at the center of a national gambling scandal that caused Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll of Florida to resign last week played a surprisingly large – and mysterious – role in financing North Carolina politicians in 2012, according to new research by the election reform group Democracy North Carolina: ● Chase E. Burns, owner [...]
Because of threats to water supplies, a proposed mining project in Texas faced tough odds for getting the necessary permits. But then cronyism and political money stepped in. Is this the story of how fracking will play out in NC, except with the help of a different party at a different level of government? Or [...]
Do you think it’s hopeless to challenge the advantage of big money in politics, especially after the Citizens United decision? Mark Schmitt points out that programs that amplify the power of small donors with “clean” public grants or matching money are effectively giving candidates the resources to wage viable campaigns. And even after CU, the [...]